Professor Don Nerbas won the  from the Canadian Historical Association for his article "‘Lawless Coal Miners’ and the Lingan Strike of 1882–1883: Remaking Political Order on Cape Breton’s Sydney Coalfieldâ€.,Ìý92, 81–122.
 praised this article for masterfully combining "local labour history with the wider social and economic changes that marked Cape Breton’s coalfields at the end of the 19th century. Much more than simply an insightful study of political economy,ÌýNerbas combines immigration and demographic histories with political culture and local custom for a beautifully articulated project. In tying regional practice to both the National Policy and Canada’s place in the global system of commodity exchange, this highly readable study sheds significant light regarding an episode previously understood simply as a “short-lived rebellion of passing significance.â€